Matrix: Revolutions

I had a desire to review Matrix: Revolutions … before it came out. Quite frankly, I’m not sure I can muster the energy to critique the Worst. Damn. Ending. Of. All. Time. I mean, did the Wachowskis just hand it over to George Lucas (of Prequel years) and ask him to have at it? Did they decide to give the guys from Ishtar another crack at infamy?

[spoilers within]

For the record, aside from some terrible lines, I actually liked the first 2/3 of the movie. I always argued that Neo would only be truly interesting outside of the Matrix, rather than inside, where he was all powerful. The mixing of the worlds – not just a blurring but an outright fusion – had amazing potential. The battle for Zion, which some reviews I read found worthless, I thought was just as good as, say, Attacking the Death Star (no, the second Death Star). Whereas the Death Star represented the monolithic destruction of worlds by a powerful War Machine, the diverse, flexible, intelligent, and multitudinous Squids remind us of the constant fear of detection, location, and destruction in modern warfare. Two different but powerful images of tyranny.

And, quite frankly, I’m glad they killed Trinity, precisely because I didn’t want them to. By the time the film was complete, I was pretty damn glad Neo was dead too (until Matrix: Resurrection).

By that time Matrix: Revolutions would have actually improved had an Ewok, rather than “the Kid,” jumped up on a rock and screamed “the war is over!” to the disbelief of the audience, if not to those hiding in the Temple-Wait-It’s-Soul-Train. Seriously. I think the residents of Zion stood there staring for those 3 or 4 heartbeats not because they were instructed to, but because the actors were stunned: “Are they serious? This is it???” *blink* *blink*

You know, I have little desire to see Matrix: Revolutions and not just because of the dismal reviews. I’m not sure if it’s the lack of buzz or what, but something happened after the second film that left me less than enthusiastic for this film.

You, George, KF and all say basically the same thing… And not to the degree of the so-bad-it’s-good kind of bad.

But, it does seem like a great point for commisseration and agreed bemoaning. Count me in. We’ll be watching it this Friday – the selection for post Thanksgiving Day leave the kids with the grandparents movie fling.

Glad you mentioned Return of the Jedi. Didn’t that whole ship running through sewer system with a swarm of enemies trailing behind it, trying to beat the clock, seem very very familiar? Heck when the crew of whatever ship Jada Pinkett Smith’s character is looking out to the ship they’ve abandoned to Keanu and Carrie Ann, did you recall the “I don’t think I’m going to see her again” line Solo tosses off before Lando takes the helm of the Falcoln? (Incidentally, Solo _was_ never supposed to see the Falcon again, as it wasn’t supposed to make it out of the Death Star in the original Jedi script).